LUCES: Women of Color Leadership & Rites Passage Program
Who We Are
The LUCES Women of Color Leadership & Rites of Passage Program is a multigenerational community of women that actively works towards solidarity, leadership, and community wellness at Loyola University Chicago. Based on the Kemetic principles of Ma’at, the LUCES Program encourages the success and growth of its participants and our community at large. The program builds from this Ma’atian foundation to facilitate the leadership development of Loyolan women of influence by focusing on the following elements of wellness:
• social/cultural: refers to your level of positive social interaction and cultural competence in an
increasingly diverse world
• intellectual: encompasses to your drive for lifelong learning and academic exploration
• spiritual/faith: deals with broad spiritual experiences that we all have, related or not to religion, that
give the sense of interconnected respect for all life forms
• vocational: includes attitudes and commitments that are most often associated with success in
college, a career, parenting, etc. as well as financial independence and health
• physical health: promotes positive physical fitness and behaviors that develop long-term bodily
health
• environmental: refers to your efforts towards preserving our living planet as well as your
maintenance of a healthy personal environment that connects to social and environmental change
• emotional: deals with the mental health and emotional outlook that you hold in the face of
opportunities and challenges.
As a multi-generational network, we respect the varied experiences of program members and learn from each other’s wisdom and insight. Reaffirming the power of global sisterhood, participants are inspired by the program’s foundation and values towards individual and social awareness, transformation, and action.
For more information, please contact Risë Nelson Burrow (rnelsonburrow@luc.edu).